The latest ‘National Interest’ column, published 23 June, has elicited backlash and support in equal measure.
New Delhi: When he argued that the aggressive, ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ line...
Don’t just look at the two commando-comic channels and get brainwashed into believing everybody is like that and pronounce the end of Indian journalism.
Jignesh Mevani is new to this. With stature, he will grow a thicker skin and learn that denial of access to a journalist at an open event can’t be justified
उन्हें कभी अपनी छड़ी के सिवा किसी और चीज के साथ नहीं देखा गया. उनके मुताबिक बंदूक-पिस्तौल रखना पुलिस अधिकारी की कमजोरी की निशानी थी. फिर भी वे जीतते रहे.
CSE, one of India’s oldest bourses, is edging towards a voluntary exit. It could never recover from market manipulation scam that caused a payment crisis at exchange back in 2001.
Fresh details of operation conducted by IAF, Army have come out in gazette notification giving citations of those who were awarded Vir Chakra for their bravery.
Education, reservations, govt jobs are meant to bring equality and dignity. That we are a long way from that is evident in the shoe thrown at the CJI and the suicide of Haryana IPS officer. The film Homebound has a lesson too.
I am surprised how you wrote this article in December 2015 when it wasn’t as relevant as it is today. It is almost clairvoyance! “Gujaratisation” was seeing its pleasant days then; the darker effects of the two Gujarati gentlemen’s decisions hadn’t started unfolding — demonetization hadn’t happened yet; Akhlaq case had happened only 2-3 months previously and was being seen as a one-off shocker — no one was thinking that it would become a trend. Bank NPAs hadn’t come to light yet in December 2015, or perhaps they had, just about.
Now, three years later many more things have happened which can be chalked up on the negative side of the list; Modi-Shah duo at the helm is as, if not more, powerful today. It is natural, therefore, for the observers both within and outside the BJP to see a kind of correlation between the two: unfortunate incidents, and the powers that be. In this situation “Gujaratisation” can sound a negative word, which worries me. I have interacted with the Gujaratis at close range, and also have some good personal friends among them. Gujaratis are by and large friendly and jovial people, easy to get along with. Even their language sounds sweet. So I would hate to see the word “Gujarati” become a HATED word. It is a no-brainer to guess that it will have wider geographical ramifications if it does — because Gujaratis are everywhere!
“Congressification” of the BJP is something I can understand more easily. After all, this party did have in the past leaders like Atal ji and Pramod Mahajan who were all passionate about Hinduism but were not so fiercely anti-Muslim as the present BJP leadership is — again, largely represented by the two Gujarati gentlemen. If to espouse a cause and yet not become extreme of views is Congressification, then yes, many BJP leaders can have such leanings. (I define the term slightly differently. Shekhar, you associate “lack of internal democracy” with Congressification. Tell me, SP, BSP, Trinamool, even NCP, Shiv Sena, DMK, erstwhile AIADMK — which party is not Congressified from that angle!) Even in the present set, I would say Mr Rajnath Singh would fit that description. There is no reason to believe that there are not MANY MORE in this party who would fit the bill. In fact in my own naive way I would say that, if they face a defeat in 2019, the BJP will split into two.
Lots of MPs from the Group of 282 must be deeply apprehensive about their prospects of getting a ticket next year. The economy too is heating up the tin roof. So ferment is likely.
I am surprised how you wrote this article in December 2015 when it wasn’t as relevant as it is today. It is almost clairvoyance! “Gujaratisation” was seeing its pleasant days then; the darker effects of the two Gujarati gentlemen’s decisions hadn’t started unfolding — demonetization hadn’t happened yet; Akhlaq case had happened only 2-3 months previously and was being seen as a one-off shocker — no one was thinking that it would become a trend. Bank NPAs hadn’t come to light yet in December 2015, or perhaps they had, just about.
Now, three years later many more things have happened which can be chalked up on the negative side of the list; Modi-Shah duo at the helm is as, if not more, powerful today. It is natural, therefore, for the observers both within and outside the BJP to see a kind of correlation between the two: unfortunate incidents, and the powers that be. In this situation “Gujaratisation” can sound a negative word, which worries me. I have interacted with the Gujaratis at close range, and also have some good personal friends among them. Gujaratis are by and large friendly and jovial people, easy to get along with. Even their language sounds sweet. So I would hate to see the word “Gujarati” become a HATED word. It is a no-brainer to guess that it will have wider geographical ramifications if it does — because Gujaratis are everywhere!
“Congressification” of the BJP is something I can understand more easily. After all, this party did have in the past leaders like Atal ji and Pramod Mahajan who were all passionate about Hinduism but were not so fiercely anti-Muslim as the present BJP leadership is — again, largely represented by the two Gujarati gentlemen. If to espouse a cause and yet not become extreme of views is Congressification, then yes, many BJP leaders can have such leanings. (I define the term slightly differently. Shekhar, you associate “lack of internal democracy” with Congressification. Tell me, SP, BSP, Trinamool, even NCP, Shiv Sena, DMK, erstwhile AIADMK — which party is not Congressified from that angle!) Even in the present set, I would say Mr Rajnath Singh would fit that description. There is no reason to believe that there are not MANY MORE in this party who would fit the bill. In fact in my own naive way I would say that, if they face a defeat in 2019, the BJP will split into two.
Much has remained unsaid.
Lots of MPs from the Group of 282 must be deeply apprehensive about their prospects of getting a ticket next year. The economy too is heating up the tin roof. So ferment is likely.